Industry Insights: Key Takeaways From the 2025 Global Report

Did you know that your NAMM membership includes a data-driven road map of trends impacting your business? A tool that’s fully loaded with global business insights to help support decision making and shed light on the economic landscape?

Discover the NAMM Global Report, an in-depth snapshot of sales figures and data for 32 countries. Now in its 21st year, the Global Report is a cornerstone of NAMM’s Industry Insights  series — and complimentary to you as a NAMM member.

We built the Global Report with partners from around the world to give you country-specific data and knowledge. And looking at the 2025 edition, a few trends stood out among product segments from the past year. With that in mind, the following trends may offer helpful context as you evaluate new business opportunities.

Download the 2025 Global Report

Live Music Driving Pro Audio Gains

Demand for live music across genres — coupled with a recovery from the pandemic-era decline in live events — drove pro audio sales in 2024. For context, Pollstar even reported a record-breaking year for the touring industry, with grosses from the top 100 worldwide tours up 3.6% from the previous year (at $9.5 billion).

Our industry saw similar gains, with pro audio growing 3.3% to $1.59 billion in the U.S. alone. This trend extended to Canada and Germany, which also experienced growth in the live sound category. Incidentally, we’ve witnessed this firsthand at NAMM. Based on our surveys, pro audio is the most popular category at The NAMM Show. Likewise, the audio community makes up the largest subset of NAMM’s individual membership.

Growth in Acoustic Guitars and Pedals

Fretted instruments topped our industry success stories in the last decade. In the U.S., fretted saw 38% growth in the past 10 years. Acoustic guitar unit sales also grew in such countries as Canada, Australia and Brazil last year, driven by young musicians purchasing entry-level models. Incidentally, members have shared anecdotal examples of how this trend is reflected at retail, as a growing subset of non-guitar and -combo retailers (e.g., school music businesses focused on band and orchestra) find a new revenue stream in acoustics.

Drilling down further, guitar pedals are a particular winner, showing steady growth to nearly $200 million in retail sales last year. This category has benefited from big interest among hobbyists and the general affordability of effects pedals.

The Digital Decade

Growing popularity in synths, DJ gear and AI integration are all reshaping how music is being created, fueling demand for digital and electronic gear. Sales reflect this. In the U.S., this category grew 36.5% in the last decade; in 2024, digital and electronic instruments saw growth in large countries ranging from the U.S. and China to Australia and France. This trend even extended to digital pianos and drum kits, which grew in the U.S. during the past decade. Speaking to this development, this year marks the debut of modular synths in the NAMM Global Report, another signal of growing interest.

These are just a few examples of the data and insights you’ll get with the 2025 edition. Be sure to download your copy of the 2025 NAMM Global Report now. And if you want more business insights, take advantage of our Industry Insights series. It features reports on everything from business data to NAMM Show trends to the impact of AI on the customer experience. And once again, it’s all part of your NAMM membership.

About the Author

Zach Phillips serves as NAMM’s director of member services, where he oversees the organization’s membership and education initiatives. He previously served as director of professional development, where he led NAMM’s education programs for business, pro audio and live event professionals. He was also the editor of Music Inc. and UpBeat Daily magazines, as well as a contributor to NBCChicago.com.